Turkish coup attempt had "nationwide tentacles"

On July 23, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan closed thousands of charities and private schools as he expanded his crackdown in the aftermath of the failed July 15 coup. A restructuring of the military is also in the cards. Kadri Gursel reports that 35% (124 of 358) of the generals and admirals in Turkey’s armed forces (TSK) have been arrested, and that the coup was “widespread” with “nationwide tentacles.” He writes that, except for the Turkish navy, “it would not be an exaggeration to estimate that between one-third and one-half of forces on the ground had joined the uprising at various levels.”

Erdogan has signaled that the coup aftermath will likely be a final reckoning for cleric Fetullah Gulen and his followers. The Gulen movement and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) had at one time been allies in advancing the AKP’s Islamist agenda, including purges of alleged Kemalist elements in the TSK. During these years, Gulen followers expanded their influence among the judiciary, police and armed forces. This was fine with AKP rulers until 2013, when Gulen fell out with Erdogan, then prime minister, who subsequently began a widely publicized purge of Gulen loyalists in the judiciary and military. 

Gursel writes, “Of the 124 generals and admirals detained, 83 are brigadier generals and rear admirals. As far as can be determined, about half of them were promoted to the rank of brigadier and rear admiral in 2013 and later. This indicates that most of the generals who today are accused of coup plotting were promoted to fill the ranks vacated by their colleagues who were purged in the Sledgehammer and Ergenekon cases. It can't be a coincidence that they constitute the majority of the plotters of this failed coup.”